British Airways is to pass on some of the burden of recent record oil prices to its passengers by more than doubling a fuel levy paid on long-haul routes, the company said yesterday.
The airline, which also unveiled quarterly profits near the upper end of analysts' expectations, will increase a fuel surcharge on long-haul single tickets from ?2.50 (US$4.60 dollars) to ?6.
On return flights, the charge will go up from ?5 to ?12, the airline said in a statement.
The increase takes effect from Aug. 11, with a short-haul surcharge of ?2.50 remaining unchanged.
Fuel prices are proving an increasing headache for airlines worldwide, with oil hitting fresh record highs late last week. Brent North Sea crude soared to US$41.50 dollars per barrel on Friday.
British Airways has warned that its fuel bill for the financial year to the end of March next year is likely to rise by around ?225 million, of which the increased surcharge will recoup only about ?70 million.
Nonetheless, the carrier saw operating profits for the three months to the end of June reach ?150 million, near the upper end of analysts' expectations of 95 million to 160 million.
The figure was also significantly higher than the ?40 million operating profit seen in the same period last year, when the world aviation industry was rocked by both the Iraq war and the SARS virus in Asia.
"These are reasonable results but currently fuel and employee costs remain our biggest challenges," chief executive Rod Eddington said.
Martin Broughton, the airline's new chairman, noted that market conditions remained difficult.
"Long-haul premium volumes are recovering steadily, while short-haul premium travel remains at lower levels. The non-premium markets are very price-sensitive," he said.
Ryanair, a major rival to British Airways on short-haul flights within Europe, said it had no plans to introduce fuel surcharges.
Communications head Paul Fitzsimmons said: "Every Ryanair passenger can rest assured that Ryanair guarantees no fuel surcharges -- not today, not tomorrow, not ever."
Virgin Atlantic Airways, which introduced ?2.50 surcharges earlier this year, said it was keeping the issue of further possible charges "under review."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from
RSS